- For the fish, see Heros genus; for the TV Show, see Heroes (TV series). For other uses, see Hero (disambiguation).
HERO'S is a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion operated by Fighting and Entertainment Group, the parent entity behind kickboxing organization K-1. Grown from and branched off of K-1's earlier experiments in MMA, including the K-1 Romanex event and various MMA fights on its regular K-1 kickboxing cards, it held its first show on March 26 2005. Although the promotion is relatively new, they already include in their roster some of the most recognizable fighters in mixed martial arts, including Kazushi Sakuraba, Norifumi Yamamoto, Melvin Manhoef, Royce Gracie, Don Frye and Vitor Ribeiro. The promotion is handled by former RINGS head Akira Maeda. Although not yet as popular worldwide as the Ultimate Fighting Championship or the now defunct PRIDE Fighting Championships, HERO'S is very recognizable in the Japanese mixed martial arts scene, thanks in large part to the visibility and resources of FEG and K-1, as well as the demise of PRIDE FC, and the current lack of a UFC coverage contract for Japanese audiences. HERO'S has begun an expansion into the American market, where their proclaimed motto is "Stop the UFC"[1] with the event, Dynamite!! USA which more than doubled the UFC's previous attendance record of just over 19,000 spectators. On 27 March 2007, FEG (the Fighting Entertainment Group) the organization that owns and operates both K-1 and HEROs held a press conference at the Los Angeles Coliseum to announce their first US event to be held on 2 June 2007. The show was a joint operated venture with the newly formed Showtime Elite XC MMA organization as well as the British MMA organization Cage Rage, the newly formed MMA organization BoDog Fight and the Korean based MMA organization Spirit MC. The show was broken down into two parts, with the first part (made up of three fights) to be aired on Showtime, and the second part of the show will be aired on PPV. The proposed headliner of the event was between former WWE champion Brock Lesnar in his debut MMA fight against K-1 veteran the Korean giant Choi Hong-man.[2] Recent signings include Sergei Kharitonov, Vitor Ribeiro, Denis Kang[3] and Harvey Harra.
List of HERO's GP Champions
List of K-1 HERO's events
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References
- ^ http://www.sherdog.com/news/news.asp?n_id=6803
- ^ http://www.presstelegram.com/sports/ci_5535971
- ^ http://ktfomma.com/denis-kang-to-fight-in-heros-october-card/
External links
Norifumi Yamamoto
Melvin Manhoef
Gesias Calvancanti
